Suppose you’re on the brink of a cliff and had only one running jump to make to three yards past a gaping precipice. Make it or break it, you’d give it your best shot. Now suppose you were a high jump trainee and disposed of countless attempts to pass a bar that’s set at 1.80m. You’d test the ground, knock down the bar a few times and, succeed at last; or fail, but with the satisfaction of having tried your best.

So which one is best ---having one go, or many goes? In religion, whatever faith you’re born in usually determins your belief in one life verses many. Should one life not suit you, switching to a reincarnationist faith may be possible if your family and social environment allow it. Should many lives speak to you, it may offer a more laid-back spiritual existence where the urgency of “making it” takes a seond seat to a more lenient lifestyle of sense gratification. “Why can’t I regulate my spiritual duties and allow myself a fair amount of material enjoyment? After all, I’ll always be free to do more in my next life.” Watch out, this could be a slippery road to compacency if you’re among those requiring strict boundaries on a narrower path with dos and donts. Reversely, those more naturally inclined to self-discipline may resent any added moral pressure of deadlines such as “do it all in this one lifetime” ---it can be counter-productive to the very idea of “One life”, and lead to religious burnout.

He who is moderate in his eating, sleeping, working and leisure habits can alleviate all material pains in his spiritual practice. BG 6.17